Colin Young

Colin Young
Birth name	Colin Young
Born	12 September 1944 (1944-09-12) (age 67)
Origin	Barbados, West Indies
Genres	Soul, R&B, pop
Occupations	musician
Instruments	vocals
Years active	1968 - Present
Labels	Ensign Records, Pye Records, Trend Records, Island Records
Associated acts	Eric Allendale, Steve Bingham, The Foundations, Mercy, Mercy, The Offbeats, The Tonicks, Alan Warner, The New Foundations
Notable instruments
vocals

Colin Young (born 12 September 1944 in Barbados) is a singer known for being a member of The Foundations. In the mid-sixties, he came to England for a holiday with his father and he decided to stay. He was a former bookkeeper who prior to joining The Foundations was lead singer of a group called The Tonicks.

Colin Young joined The Foundations after two members, lead singer Clem Curtis and tenor saxophonist Mike Elliott left in 1968.^[1] He replaced Clem Curtis as lead singer and went on to sing on 2 more of the Foundations big hits, "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)".^[1] He stayed with The Foundations until their break up in late 1970.

In the mid-1970s, while Clem Curtis and The Foundations were on the road after having re-formed The Foundations, there was also another Foundations line up, led by Colin Young, who were on the road at the same time and were playing basically the same material. This eventually led to court action which resulted in Clem Curtis being allowed to bill his group as either The Foundations or Clem Curtis & The Foundations. Young was allowed to bill himself as The New Foundations or Colin Young & The New Foundations.^[2]

Also the mid-1970s, Colin Young and his group released a lone 45 on the Pye label, "Something For My Baby" / "I Need Your Love".^[2]

In the 1980s, as the lead singer of UK group Mercy, Mercy, he had a hit with "It Must Be Heaven".

In 1999, a version of The Foundations was re formed that included Colin Young (vocals), Alan Warner (Guitar), Steve Bingham (bass), Gary Moberly (keyboards), Tony Laidlaw (sax) and Sam Kelly then Steve Dixon (drums). This version of the group was reformed due to the popularity of the film There's Something About Mary and the interest created resulting from the 1968 hit "Build Me Up Buttercup" being featured in the film. Some time later Colin Young left this version of the group and was replaced by Hue Montgomery (aka Hugh Montgomery).

In 2003 Colin Young recorded an updated version of "Build Me Up Buttercup" backed by a choir of policemen from the Surrey police force. The proceeds from the sale of the CD go to Milly's Fund. The fund is a trust set up in memory of murdered school girl Amanda Dowler. Apparently the song was a favourite of hers.^[3]

In 2010, Colin Young appeared in Channel 4's Come Dine With Me, where he performed a song for some people. Apart from the one that booked him, only one person recognised him as the artist that was number one the year they were born.

Discography

7" Singles

• Colin Young - Any Time At All / You're No Good - UNI 55286 - 1971 (UK and German release Trend 6099 005)
• New Foundations - Something For My Baby / I Need Your Love - PYE 45533 - 1975

• Mercy, Mercy - It Must Be Heaven / It Must Be Heaven (Part 2) - Island Records - 106 996 - 1984

12 Singles

• Mercy, Mercy - It Must Be Heaven (Dancemix Part 1) / It Must Be Heaven (Dancemix Part 2) - Ensign Records - 12ENY 515 - 1984 ^[4]
• Mercy, Mercy - What Are We Gonna Do About It (Extended Mix) / (Dub Mix) - Ensign Records - 12ENY 522 DJ - 1985 ^[5]

CD Single

• Colin Young & The Offbeats, For Milly's Fund - Build Me Up Buttercup / Buttercup Too / No Man Is An Island - Ripe Music RIPEMCD1 - 2003

• "' Colin Young and The Come Dine With Me Crew'" - Woman, Get Back To the Kitchen! - Dave Lamb Records DLCD1 - 2010

References

1. ^ ^{a b} allmusic The Foundations Biography
2. ^ ^{a b} Dopson, Roger. Baby Now That I've Found You, Sequel Records NEECD 300 (1st ed.). UK: Sequel REcords. 
3. ^ www.platform-end.co.uk The Manfred man and is bands of gold…. By David Barnett – Bradford Telegraph & Argus Sat 23 August 2003
4. ^ Discogs Mercy, Mercy - It Must Be Heaven
5. ^ Discogs Mercy, Mercy - What Are We Gonna Do About It

• http://www.45cat.com/record/6099005

Persondata
Name	Young, Colin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	12 September 1944
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death